Mass Effect: Immortal
by pat673
Summary: Taking place after Mass Effect, and ME:Ascension, "Immortal" revolves around the black ops group Cerberus and Commander Dan Waters, their first "Immortal" test subject, a genetically enhanced Super-Soldier and Miranda Hume of the Systems Alliance.
1. Introduction

The thick metal walls and ceiling of the dark and isolated warehouse creaked under the intense buffeting winds of the snowstorm that raged outside. The cargo crates and shipping containers that would usually litter the concrete floor of the warehouse had been pushed to either side. The only thing within eyesight of a single flickering fluorescent light fixed in the ceiling was a single desk, two empty chairs and a nondescript hardcase resting on the plastic surface of the table.

The door suddenly and roughly slid open, a grey shaft of light revealing a figure standing behind the foremost chair, arms crossed. The harsh wind whipped at the tall figure standing in the doorway, snow now beginning to whirl inside. The figure, from its walk and build, obviously turian closed the door and with a dull step made his way toward the lone table.

The man standing behind the chair only clenched and unclenched his jaw and waited somewhat patiently for the turian. Running a quick hand over his closely cropped silver hair, the man took a seat and leant forward, tenting his hands. The man's steely blue eyes analyzed everything about the alien approaching him. He wasn't the best, just a merc looking for money, but this turian got the job done no matter what the cost. The man would use him, and then discard him. Just like everyone else. The man just needed the job done.

"Well, well. It's not often that you see the Illusive Man himself away from the roost, is it?" joked the turian in a rich but almost musical voice and manner, taking a seat. The wood creaked as the turian sat and leant back in the chair. To some extent he resembled a bird of prey with his avian features that all of his kind possessed. The Illusive Man didn't like the merc; he was a gun for hire with no solid convictions or ideals. And he was _alien_.

The Illusive Man clenched and unclenched his jaw once more but never broke eye contact with the turian sitting casually across from him. As the headman for the rogue Spec Ops group Cerberus, he'd dealt with countless situations that forced him to put his ideals beside, even if it meant dealing with aliens. In the last two months his position as the leader of Cerberus had been compromised; first the meddling of the first Human Spectre Commander John Shepard and then more recently several of his operatives and agents betraying him and his organisation. Not to mention losing the most talented human biotic child. Sometimes personal sacrifices had to be made.

"He's on Elysium. I want you to find him and bring him to Calistan. Ditch your shuttle there and a Cord-Hislop ship will pick you and your..._cargo_ up and take you to Omega." The Illusive Man explained, flicking open the lock on the hardcase and taking out an Optical Storage Disk. "Everything is explained in greater detail on this."

The turian held his hand out to receive it, but the Man simply placed it on the desk and slid it across.

"What happens when we get to Omega?" asked the Turian, glaring at the subtle insult as he took the OSD from the table and pocketed it. "And when do I-"

"The funds have already been transferred." Cut in the human sharply, it didn't sit well with him using Cerberus' money to finance a turian mercenary group, but they were somehow cheap _and_ reliable. "As for Omega, when you arrive, your cargo will be taken from you and your job will be finished. You can go continue doing whatever it is you do," the Illusive Man explained as he stood, his patience running thin with the turian.

"I believe you have all that you need. Remember, we need him alive at _all_ costs. He's no good to me dead." He stated harshly. The turian sensing the underlying threat in his words only nodded and made his way toward the door of the warehouse.

The door slid open as the Illusive Man called out. "Oh, and Tonn? No traces, if anything is linked back to us, you're a dead turian."


	2. Chapter 1: Elysium

It was no surprise to Miranda Hume, First Lieutenant of the Humans Systems Alliance, N7 Marine, that the streets of Elysium were still bustling and busy at 3 in the morning. Despite that it was a human colony, the streets were packed with an all manner of species from across the galaxy. From the rotund and wheezing volus, the dinosaurs like krogan to the lithe asari and avian turian. The only species that seemed to be missing where the quarians and the batarians, but for obvious reasons. Soft and brightly coloured fluorescent light spilled out into the full streets as the thrumming deep bass and synth tunes only added to the cacophony that was the tumult of the streets of Elysium. It nearly threatened to confound her senses as she walked down the colony's main and infamous club and bar boulevard.

Despite wearing her fatigues and a pistol strapped to her hip, she didn't feel out of place as she saw not only a patrol of marines march by but also a pair of Elysium's police force on duty. Since the attack on Elysium by batarian pirates and slavers called the Skyllian Blitz, security had tightened on Elysium. It was now one of the best-protected human colonies in the galaxy.

Miranda continued to elbow her way through the crowd, fortunately for her, most saw her uniform and cleared her path. The many varying shades and tones of light in the street threw Miranda's face into obscurity but even in the constantly shifting light, one could tell she was stunningly attractive and young for an N7; a raw recruit. With full lips and an elegant and chiseled face, almond shaped and startling green eyes, she was the envy of many humans: men and women alike. Her skin, a lighter shade of olive, was common among humans due to the interbreeding of many races. It was rare for a human these days to have blonde hair or Caucasian skin, but with skin pigmentation pills and hair dye, many still looked the part.

Pushing a black strand of hair behind her ears and out of her face, Miranda turned and entered the club she was looking for, simply titled "The J Bar". She knew the instant she walked in that it was a dive, from the sticky floors to the smell of cheap and stale alcohol and the scantily clad asari and human dancers. Suppressing a sigh of contempt, Miranda ignored the patrons and the dancers and made her way to the bar in the corner of the room.

Ordering only a mango juice, she sat where she could see the majority of the room without having to turn her head. Taking her juice from the barkeep with a nod, she took a sip and looked around, relishing the sweet flavour in her mouth. One hand resting casually on the stock of her pistol, she waited.

It turns out Miranda didn't have to wait long. Her hand resting casually on her Hahne-Kedar manufactured pistol, she set the drink aside and stood, her keen green eyes set on a seemingly regular man wearing a pair of faded and torn jeans, dulled combat boots and a grimy orange sweater, the hood pulled over a rugged and unshaven face. The man got up from his sitting position across the room and stumbled over toward the dancers, obviously intoxicated, a half empty bottle of whisky in one hand.

He disappeared for a moment as the patrons around the bar blocked him from Miranda's view. Casting a quick eye over her shoulder and around the club, she walked forwards a few paces, pretending to watch the vid screen on the opposite wall showing a game of Professional Poker Championships. Politely asking a pair of turians to move, the man was once more in her line of sight. He had slumped down into a chair by the dancing facilities and pole dancers and was currently getting a lap-dance by a half naked asari.

Miranda had always found the fact that the blue skinned asari where mono-gendered, meaning they could have sexual relations and consequently offspring with any race or gender, both confusing, disturbing and fascinating. After all, to the human eye they looked every bit female and could have been considered human if it weren't for their strange rippling folds of sculpted skin where hair should be on their head that disturbingly resembled tentacles. Miranda pushed her wandering thoughts aside and concentrated on the man who had now retrieved a fist full of credits and was placing them in to the cleavage and bikini of the dancer.

Rolling her eyes she took another step forward. If he kept on making contact with the dancers, she doubted the club management would be too impressed. The last thing she needed was to get involved in a squabble like that; Marines had been busted down a full rank for getting into similar altercations, especially while on a mission. As she had guessed, a krogan bouncer lumbered forward shaking his fist toward the man.

"Hey! No-one touches the dancers!" He roared over the clamor of the club, a stunner on one hip and a pulse baton, or a 'sick-stick' on the other. Upon contact, the baton would send electric pulses through the body inducing vomiting in the victim, effectively stopping them in their tracks. The man appeared not to be listening and gave a quick spank to the dancer, a drunken leer on his face. The krogan waved forward a couple of other bouncers and pointed to him.

"Didn't you hear me, Dan? No-one touches the dancers!" The krogan bellowed again, the two human bouncers taking their place behind the krogan.

The man named Dan held his palms forward in supplication and with a surly grin shouted back, "Isn't that what I'm supposed to do? I mean, I'm just payin' them, buddy." Dan lost his grin and frowned with apparent anger, "_And_ how do you know my name?"

The krogan took another step forward, his hand on the pulse baton on his belt. Miranda wondered why the three bouncers hadn't already pounced on him and thrown him out. The krogan snarled at Dan, "Everyone here knows who you are. Now get out, before this gets ugly."

The man's surly manner returned and took a long gulp from the whiskey bottle. Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he flashed a churlish smile. "Hey, I'm just havin' a lil fun. Is that against the law or somethin'? Why don't..." the man belched and leant forward drunkenly, "Why don't you join me, huh?"

"You've been warned, human." The krogan snapped, waving the two other bouncers forward. Vice like grips clamped down on his shoulder and another under his armpits and hauled him to his feet. Dan shook back his hood and glowered at the bouncers with startling steel blue eyes, all apparent surliness vanished.

They pushed him toward the door but Dan didn't back down. He turned and marched back straight toward the krogan who grabbed him by the scruff of the hoodie and lifted him into the air. "Get outta here!" the krogan barked and pushed him away, Dan falling straight to the floor. By now a crowd had begun to form around the three humans and the krogan. The dancers had subtly left the dancing area and retreated to the safety of the backrooms while other patrons were either looking on with interest or looking to get furthest away from the coming confrontation.

Miranda took another step forward and was now at the very edge of the crowd, unclipping her pistol. She was the only one in the club with a proper firearm and she would use it if necessary; she needed Commander Dan Waters alive. Although her superiors would have reprimanded her if they were present, she was keen to watch him in action.

Dan was still sitting on the floor, scowling at the krogan. The alien took a menacing step forward, his pulse baton at the ready and held high for a strike. The man stood slowly and exhaled heavily. "Touch me again, krogan...and I'll kill you." He stated simply, barely audible over the din of the club.

The krogan barked harshly with laughter and raised both arms and looked around, finding the thought of this drunken human killing someone like him amusing. "You really think that _you_ scare me, Dan? Yeah, I've heard the stories. They say you're a good fighter. Maybe, for a human. But I'm a Warrior. I'm a krogan!"

"No. Your an overpaid bouncer working in this shithole," snapped Dan, clenching and unclenching his fists. A faint blue aura gathered around Dan's hands and feet. Miranda frowned in momentary confusion but quickly came to the startling realisation; he was a biotic! Biotics could manipulate dark energy and create mass effect fields by using bio-amps and implants in there neurological system. That wasn't on his personnel file.

The krogan growled and raised the pulse baton above his head and brought it down. But Dan was faster. As soon as the krogan's arm began to rise, Dan's elbow dipped and his body twisted and delivered a punishing roundhouse kick infused with biotic power directly to the krogan's face. Miranda and the other patrons of the club openly gasped as the krogan crumpled to the ground in a mess of teeth and orange blood. A human taking a krogan down with one hit was unheard of, near impossible.

The other two bouncers looked at each other, wide-eyed but again, Dan struck. Using a quick burst of Biotics, his hand aimed at the ground, Dan shot himself into the air and brought his elbow down on the man's skull with a wet crack. The man collapsed to the ground, but Miranda couldn't tell if he was dead or just unconscious. Miranda looked to her side and saw three more bouncers come pushing through the crowd and when she looked back, the other human was now down on the ground, arm broken and nose bloody.

Dan laughed as the three other bouncers surrounded him. He squared off and prepared to fight again when Miranda regained her composure and recovered from the shock of what she'd just saw, took her pistol and fired a single round into the roof. Everything stopped and all eyes instantly turned toward her. She took aim at the three bouncers, her finger deliberately resting on the stock and not on the trigger.

"Back away! Miranda Hume, Systems Alliance. I'm here to take this man into custody!" She snapped, moving forward and gesturing with her head for the bouncers toward the crowd.

"What makes you think you can take me _anywhere_?" said Dan, glaring at the woman, the sudden use of his biotic powers taking its toll as the fatigue set in. His eyes lingered from her green ones and then onto her athletic figure.

"_Shut up_!" Miranda said sternly, turning her attention toward Dan. "Now, come with me, Commander."

Dan looked the woman up and down and opened his mouth to protest, but admiring the curve of her hips and breasts under her tight fatigues, he changed his mind. "I'm all legs… And so are you."

Miranda rolled her eyes and grabbed his elbow and guided him outside the club. They walked down the street without so much as a word as Dan walked behind her, apparently transfixed by the swaying of her hips. She walked down a deserted alleyway and turned toward around to find Dan measuring her up again. He was handsome enough with chiseled and rugged features, but his face was dirty and covered in a thick and scruffy brown beard. He flashed a quick leer at her before Miranda snapped off a quick salute.

Dan groaned and knelt down, "Don't give me that crap, girl. I'm not in the Alliance anymore. What do you want from me?"

"The Alliance wants only to help. I'm supposed to take you in and shuttle you to Arcturus Station for a debriefing, _sir_." Miranda said crisply, as if addressing a superior.

Dan laughed and leant back on his haunches. "I'd sure like to give you a debriefing." He said suggestively, raising one eyebrow.

"With all due respect, sir. Cut the crap. I know it's an act. Your psych profile tells me what you were like before the...accident. You are a good man. We know about Cerberus and what they did. The Alliance just wants to help."

"You could never know!" Dan suddenly shouted with such intensity that it made Miranda jump. The air hung with tension as Dan glowered at Miranda. His anger soon turned to anguish. "You don't know me, kid, and you don't want to. Just beat it."

"We want to save you, sir." Miranda replied, pitying the man on the ground before her.

"You can't save me! Do you have _any_ idea what I've been through?" Dan shakily got to his feet and took a step toward Miranda, his face only inches away from hers. He smelt like old stale alcohol, cigarette smoke and garbage. She wrinkled her nose but met his cold blue eyes head on. "Hmm? Do ya? If you had any idea what I've seen, what I've done...? You _can't_ help me. Just…just leave me alone."

Dan collapsed to his knees, a migraine beginning to set in. Miranda stood, hands behind her back, looking at the Commander for a full minute but he just continued to stare at the ground. She nodded briskly once and snapped off another salute, "Very well, sir. The Alliance apologises for any inconvenience caused."

With that Miranda turned and exited the alley and down the street. Dan just held his head in his hands and then felt his gorge rise and vomited all over the already dirty floor of the alley.


	3. Chapter 2: The Illusive Man

It wasn't long before Dan heard the dull step of military boots make his way towards him in the alley once more. On all fours spitting the foul taste out of his mouth, he groaned and muttered, "What did I just tell you, kid?"

Dan wiped his mouth on his sleeve and leant back on his knees to find two armed turians taking a bead on his head and sensed other figures behind him. With a slow and deliberate turn of his neck, he cracked the vertebrae with a sigh of relief and stood on shaky legs. The two turians remained silent as Dan backed himself against the wall in order to get a view of the figures behind him, a krogan and two humans. All of them armed.

"You sure you boys wanna do this?" Dan looked long and hard at the two humans specifically. "Let me guess, rogue mercenary band looking to ransom the Alliance's downtrodden 'supersoldier' back to them, huh?"

Dan laughed at the term but it was only an act. He was considering all of his possibilities; without the stim packs he'd received while in service to the Alliance, an outburst of biotic power wouldn't affect him until hours, even days later. But without them, he was weaker and judging from his pounding migraine and the vomit on the ground, it was getting worse. He could try one last burst and attempt to kill the five surrounding him, but he doubted he had the strength of mind to create any more mass effect fields.

One of the two turians stepped forward, the tough cartilage on his face adorned with a swirling black tattoo. He held his pistol to Dan's head, the cold barrel resting on the human's forehead. Dan closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"I want you to do it. Shoot me. End it. _Now_," He murmured, barely audible. The sweet release of death was something that somehow always eluded him. The turian just shook his head.

"As much as I'd like to, the Illusive Man wants you alive. And he _always_ gets what he wants," replied to the turian crisply.

Dan's eyes widened in fear, his mind instantly traveling to the experiments of Cerberus. The image of Dan strapped to a cold metal bench surrounded by machines and scientists, one with closely cropped silver hair and steely blue eyes flashed fiercely in his mind. He remembered the tests, the pain but most of all, the incredible power. The fear and panic threatened to drown him as his memory came flooding back to him.

"_No_! You can't take me back there!" Barely after he had shouted the words, Dan's voice cracking with emotion, the turian brought his pistol down with crack on the Commander's temple. His world shuddered and wavered and then it was black.

Dan opened his eyes slowly and instantly regretted it as explosion of white light assaulted his eyes. Groaning in pain as he struggled to adjust to the blinding light and painfully aware of a throbbing ache in his temple, he tried to get his bearings. From the stinging cold of steel he felt on his back, he judged he was shirtless. Dark shapes began to form around him and he felt the sharp prick of a needle entering his arm. Dan uttered a sigh of relief and pleasure as the stim almost immediately began to work through his systems; he'd felt the effect plenty times before to associate the soothing effect with the near absolute power of Biotics at his command.

His vision cleared and the throbbing pain dissipated as his genetically engineered cells began to rapidly repair themselves with the help of the stimulant. A satisfied smile tugged at the corner of his mouth until he recognised the man leaning over him, a strange glint of pleasure in his cold blue eyes.

"_You_!" Spat Dan vehemently. He chocked back a fit of rage as he prepared to unleash a full biotic kick.

Seeing the machines attached to Dan pick up the abnormal brain waves, The Illusive Man just shook his head and cut in sharply. "It's no use, Dan. As long as you are restricted in this chair, you are nothing more than a regular man. Try as you might to kill me, but it is a waste of your talents."

He smiled slightly, looking over to the various nodes connected to Dan's chest and neck. "The human body is an amazing thing, wouldn't you say? Just by altering your brain waves we are able to cut off all of your Biotic abilities."

Dan glowered at the man with such intensity that the Illusive Man had to repress the urge to take a step back. Finally he said, "What do you want from me?"

"What I want is for you to calm down and try to think rationally. We need you back, Dan. Things in the galaxy are moving, things so imperative and important to the human race that we must act _now_. Humanity has taken it's rightful place high in the ranks of the galactic community, but we both know that seizing power is a lot easier than keeping it. You can still be a lot of help to us, Dan."

Dan scowled in contempt at the man standing across from him, "Why would I help you? _I hate you_!" He took a shuddering breath and whispered, "I hate what you've made me become."

The Illusive Man took a step forward, one hand resting on Dan's quivering but restrained shoulder. "I did not make you the man you are today, nor did I force you to do the things you did. I am not the one who killed all of those innocent soldiers, Dan. The Immortal Project improved you, the pinnacle of what human evolution is capable of; physically and mentally faster, stronger, rapid cell regeneration and the strongest Biotic I've ever seen. No, Dan, I created you but it was still you that did those things."

"Cerberus used me as a tool! You betrayed me!" Dan shouted. "She'd still be alive if it wasn't for you!"

The Illusive Man paused, his eyes seemed to film over in memory and sadness came into his face. "Sacrifices _must_ be made for the greater good of humanity. It was…unfortunate that your wife had to become apart of that. We were taking the necessary precautions, _you_ were the one who sold us out to the Alliance," The cold calculating eyes of the Illusive Man returned as he snapped, "It was you, Dan, that betrayed us to the Alliance, to Admiral Kahoku! Do you know how many men and women we lost due to Commander Shepard becoming involved? Do you know how far that set us back?"

Arm's crossed, the Illusive Man composed himself and began to pace back and forth beside the metal bench. "We did only what was required to keep Cerberus alive. Surely you didn't think that after you had betrayed us we wouldn't try to find you? You were a commodity for Cerberus that had gotten out of hand; we had to put you down. I still can't decide if I'm disappointed or pleased that you survived that day on Omega."

Dan only glared intensely in response; adrenal sweats beginning to slip down his neck and forehead as his heart thumped in his ears. With his Biotics effectively cut off, there was nothing he could do. Dan let his head sink back onto the cold metal bench and closed his eyes.

"There, was that so hard, Dan?" A small satisfied smile tugged at the man's thin lips. He walked over to an intercom on the wall and pressed the button. "Come in. We have work to do."

The intercom chimed and a team of scientists in white coats entered the room, some carrying trays of equipment and tools, while others held Omni-Tools ready. The Illusive Man strode over to a machine and flicked a switch, sending a violent electric shock into Dan's nervous system.

Dan groaned in pain as the Illusive Man came to stood beside him, head bent over him with a thin sadistic smile on his face. "As I said, you are a commodity. A commodity that can be exploited, studied, copied and ultimately, _improved_. Your death will be long and painful, Dan, but at least you'll be more useful in death than you were in life."

Another shock hit Dan, causing him to buck and thrash against his bindings, moaning in pain. Once the shaking had subsided, the Illusive Man stooped his head lower and whispered into Dan's ear, "_Nobody_ turns their back on Cerberus, Dan. We _never_ forget."

The next few days passed as a blur of pain and anguish at the hands of the Cerberus scientists, testing his immune system against viruses and poisons, his biotic reactions by stimulating brainwaves and worst of all his rapid cell regeneration by constant deep cuts and slashes, hairline fractures and broken bones with nothing but his bodies natural shock system to block out the insistent waves of pain that crashed over him.

The physical and mental pain and exhaustion threatened to place him in a coma if it wasn't for the specially formulated serums injected into him twice a day to keep him conscious. Days became weeks and weeks melded into months of the agonizing pain and torture of the Cerberus tests, nothing but flashes of the men and instruments remained in Dan's memory although the pain never seemed to leave him.


	4. Chapter 3: A New Assignment

Delia strode through the crowded Presidium, gracefully and easily avoiding the current of the press of people swelling around her, her lithe asari form moving like water between the throng of people. Armed with a Master Spectre Gear HMWA Assault Rifle on her back and a HMWP Pistol strapped to her left thigh in full dark Asari Commando armour, she was an awe inspiring sight; a symbol of the power the Spectre's and the asari wielded.

Her striking and elegant face was adorned with light blue, almost white facial markings around her eyes, cheekbones and forehead common to the more experienced of her race, in contrast to the dark purple tinge to her skin. Delia continued onwards through the masses and cacophony of sound that was common to the Presidium, her mind inexplicably wandering back to the encrypted message the Council had forwarded to her while in the middle of tracking down illegal black market and highly dangerous weapon mods on the Citadel working alongside C-Sec. It wasn't her most dangerous mission, but not every mission for a Spectre was concerning galactic security like the vids portrayed.

But it was a minor annoyance for Delia to being interrupted in her investigation, when she received a mission she liked to see it done. It was just the way she worked; determined, hot-headed and persistence bordering on stubbornness, the Council could rely on her getting her job done to the best of her ability every time. Which is why it seemed even the more strange that the Council would request a meeting through official and sealed channels considering she was working right here on the Citadel. Delia easily deduced that something was wrong or out of the ordinary. Not usually the worrying type, she pushed her wandering thoughts aside and came to stop outside the Citadel tower elevator that would take her to the Council Chambers hundreds of feet above her.

One of the officers guarding the elevator stepped forward, a turian, to check her ID and take a thumbprint scan. Satisfied with the scan, he gave a small nod for her to continue and resumed his position beside the elevator. Delia stood into the elevator and rolled her stiff shoulders as the elevator smoothly began to climb. Ignoring her lurching stomach, she clasped her hands behind her back and waited patiently, trying her best to keep her relatively young and restless mind off the message from the Council.

The elevator door opened to the Council Chambers, revealing the newly planted blossoming trees dotting the various staircases to the chamber itself. The Geth attack on the Citadel had decimated the Council Chambers and only now had it been returned to it's former serene and peaceful beauty. As a Spectre she had been informed of the true nature of the Geth attack on the Citadel and more specifically, Sovereign and what the former Spectre agent Saren Arterius had tried to achieve. To say the thought of a fleet of ancient machines trying to wipe out all sentient life in the galaxy didn't frighten her would simply be lying to herself. She was terrified of the idea.

But with the destruction of Sovereign at the hands of the Alliance fleet, the immediate threat of the Reapers had dissipated from the collective consciousness of the Council, it seemed to Delia. Climbing the final staircase to the chambers proper, she nodded in recognition to the three representatives before her: turian, asari and salarian. She was surprised not to see the representative of the human Systems Alliance standing before her, but assumed that the elections were continuing even now, and so had no official place on the Council until a candidate was elected.

"Agent Delia Idanya," began the turian representative formally, "we have summoned you here before the Council to inform you that your investigation into illegal weapon modifications on the Citadel has been transferred to another Agent."

Delia frowned momentarily, for her investigation to be transferred usually meant that she would be receiving a another in turn, but there was a heavy and tense silence that hung among and the Council and her stomach lurched apprehensively.

As if sensing her uneasy thoughts, the asari chimed in, "We have another, and more important, mission for you to undertake. One that would benefit from your more subtle methods of investigation." Delia smiled slightly and gave a bob of her head in recognition for the subtle compliment; while Spectre's were above and beyond the scope of galactic law and encouraged to use any means necessary to accomplish their missions, Delia had rarely deviated from the law in order to do so.

The asari continued, "We have received word from the Alliance that they have lost contact with yet another research base out in the Verge."

"The second in as many months," The salarian added. "Under normal circumstances the Alliance themselves would be dealing with this issue, but this is _far_ from normal circumstances."

Delia cocked her brow but remained silent as the asari continued, "The rogue black ops group Cerberus has infiltrated every known channel of the Alliance, and so they no longer trust to be able to destroy this threat themselves. They came to us, seeking our help, and asked that you would be in charge of the investigation."

This time Delia spoke, "Why does the Alliance need me? Don't they have their own Spectre for this sort of investigation?"

"The specifics of Commander Shepard's mission are not relevant to this meeting, Delia," cut in the turian sharply. "Cerberus is out of control, their experiments are not only endangering the Alliance, but the stability of the entire galaxy."

Delia suddenly understood, the Alliance asked for her to complete this mission but the Council would never just agree to such terms without something in return. "What did the Alliance promise you? The remains of the Cerberus research logs?"

"This is irrelevant! We summoned you hear to assign you a mission, not for you to question the motives of the Council!" The turian snapped, but the asari representative held up her hand, quieting the turian.

"She has every right to question this assignment," she said soothingly, looking between the two representatives on her sides. "We do not know why the Alliance has specifically asked for you, Delia, but we have granted their request."

"If Cerberus has infiltrated the Alliance so thoroughly, how do we know this isn't a trap?" Delia asked quietly, little more than thinking aloud.

"The thought has crossed our minds," the salarian replied but a smile tugged at the corner of his lips, "But you wouldn't be very good at what you do if you took everything at face value, Delia. Subtlety and reconnaissance are essential to this mission, for which you have garnered a reputation."

"The specifics of the mission and all the necessary files have already been forwarded to your personal logs, Delia. The MSV Tycoon will take you to Hedes, a small human colony with the Research Station on the far side. Your to travel in the guise as a lone mercenary on the MSV, passing through on a vacation of sorts."

"We will keep you informed as your mission continues," the salarian stated. "But remember only to use officially sealed channels, for Cerberus to latch onto our extranet would be catastrophic, at best."

Delia just nodded and turned as the asari ended the meeting, her mind beginning to work over the many implications and possible outcomes to the mission. She didn't relish the thought of working directly for the Alliance; she had nothing against them, but she was beyond being a mere detective; investigating why two research bases had been destroyed was below her. But no matter what her assignment, she had never questioned the will of the Council before, and she wasn't about to begin now.


	5. Chapter 4: Aboard the SSV Gallipoli

The SSV Gallipoli hurtled through space, approaching the tiny blue dot in the vast distance of space displayed on the monitor, Miranda recognizing it as the next mass relay in her long journey to Hedes. As the surging red and blue fluctuations of light outside the Frigate's view port turned to a field of electric blue, she felt the familiar surge and lurch of her stomach as the SSV Gallipoli was instantaneously transported to the next Mass Relay, thousands of light years away.

Miranda smiled slightly and patted the shoulder of the pilot sitting in front of her, a woman named Ella. Ella was an experienced pilot despite being the relatively young age of 32, one of the best to come out of the pilot training schools of the Alliance. Her most outstanding feature was her hair; dyed blood red, cropped close at the back in tufts of styled spikes and a fringe falling across her face in a wave.

"Everything looks a-okay, Lieutenant," replied Ella in a rich, husky voice, her amber eyes darting over the control panel in front of her. "Plotting a course for Hedes; ETA 23 minutes."

Miranda nodded and took her leave as Ella reported in to the Captain of the Gallipoli, Nathan, a grizzled man in his late 60's who reminded Miranda every bit of a bear; Nathan towered over most of his crew at 6'5", barrel-chested and broad shouldered, he was a warm hearted and inspiring man who was polite and friendly with his crew but merciless and brutal when it came to his enemies, often taking things on a personal level.

The Lieutenant made her way down from the bridge, passing the Gallipoli's crewmembers in the tight confines of the ship, some snapping off salutes as she passed. As she continued through the ship on her way to the mess hall, her mind wandered: it had been two months since the disappearance of Dan Waters but no traces had been found, which Miranda found odd and a little too convenient. After all, Elysium was one of the best-guarded ports in Alliance controlled space, for him to simply disappear without a trace was nearly impossible.

When she returned to confirm her reports to Alliance brass without the ex-Commander in tow, her investigation had been officially terminated and to the best of her knowledge, no efforts had been made to find Waters or bring him in. After Dan Waters had disappeared, Cerberus activities in the Verge had re-doubled and the first Alliance research base on Mecklenburg had been destroyed. Records on the research conducted at Mecklenburg were sealed to all but the top Alliance officials. To Miranda it seemed blatantly obvious there was a connection between the disappearance of Waters, the attack on Mecklenburg and now Hedes, and Cerberus. It frustrated her to no end to think that someone high up in the Alliance chain of command was on Cerberus' payroll and had consciously betrayed the Alliance to this degree.

Miranda had always been by the book; she had gained a reputation while training at Arcturus for the N7 program for naivety and a romantic, even simplistic view on life. She believed so strongly in the Alliance and humanity's strength and fierce independence that sometimes it clouded her vision for what was really happening. To Miranda, everything could be classified into archetypes of black and white, good and bad, she couldn't grasp the concept of someone willing to play the double agent, to betray someone they love and most of all to abandon someone; like the Alliance was now abandoning Dan Waters.

She collapsed down into a chair in the mess hall, her mood turning sour as it often did when her mind dwelt to heavily on such subjects. Hardly noticing the man taking a seat across the table from her, Miranda propped her chin against her palms and stared absently at the far wall.

"Something worrying you, Lieutenant?" the man asked, a small, impish smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Miranda had to pause for a second before she realized she was being spoken to. Blinking in slight confusion, her keen green eyes then darted over to the man, he was dark skinned and thin for a marine with high cheekbones, gaunt cheeks and a few days worth of stubble dotting his chin. She didn't know the man, nor was he wearing fatigues or any indication of his rank; instead he wore a fitted blue dress shirt and jacket with grey trousers.

"You have me at a disadvantage," Miranda replied slowly, her brow furrowing which somehow seemed only to accentuate how gorgeous she was. "Mr.…?"

The man stood abruptly and quickly, causing Miranda to instinctively jump in shock, before extending his hand out across the table. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Cody Adams, I work for the Alliance."

Miranda smiled politely, but there were questions in her eyes. "I'm Miranda Hume, I'm the XO of the SSV Alamo." She took his hand and shook it, but even for the charming smile on Cody's mouth, something seemed wrong about him to the Lieutenant. "But I'm just hitching a ride to Hedes."

"I know," Cody replied quickly, taking a seat and smiling once more. He straightened his cufflinks before sitting forward and propping his elbows on the table, his hands coming together in a tent. "I'm going there as well, you could say we'll be working together for the next few days."

Miranda opened her mouth to speak, but Cody swiftly cut her off. "This wasn't in the files because if it was, I would be a dead man by now. This is need to know, and you, Miranda, _need_ to know." He grinned this time, his bright white teeth in sharp contrast with his dark skin.

There was a pause as the two sat regarding each other silently across the table from each other. "What exactly do you do for the Alliance?" She asked coolly, a frown once more furrowing her brow.

"That's not important right now," Cody replied, his rich brown eyes looking around the room, as if seeking someone lurking in the shadows. "What's important is that you get suited up and ready for our mission on Hedes."

"I'm not sure I understand, Mr. Adams. Suited up? And what exactly are we going to be doing together?" The lieutenant asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Please, just call me Cody. You'll be seeing me every now and again on Hedes, Miranda, so you must trust me with this. We're meeting with a Council Spectre planet side; she is going to help us with our investigation. Everything will be explained in due course."

"A Spectre? Why is the Council getting involved?" She stood and adjusted her fatigues before turning her attention back to the man across from her. "Why does the Alliance need the help of the Council?"

"Because we asked for it, and they granted it," came Cody's reply as he too stood. "She is one of the best the Council can offer, and we suspect this mission is going to be more difficult than initially thought."

"Fantastic," replied Miranda dryly. "But if the Council is involved, then why do they need me here?"

"To be honest with you, Miranda, I wouldn't be at liberty to say even if I knew." Cody answered as he stepped around the table and took a step closer towards her.

"Give me your best guess, then, Cody." Miranda stated, still suspicious of the man. She figured that Cody was an Agent from one of the many branches of Alliance Intelligence. She also guessed that his real name was not Cody Adams.

"I'm afraid I couldn't, Miranda." He answered, his voice taking a hard edge to it. "I take my work very seriously, and I know for a fact that you do as well, so let's just get down there and do our work, shall we?"

Miranda glared slightly at the man in front of her but her next sentence was cut off as Ella came over the intercom, "Docking at Hedes Port of Chael in approximately 10 minutes. Captain requests all ground teams are suited up and ready to go in 5."

The lieutenant cast a glance at Cody, whose smile had returned, before nodding curtly to him and leaving him in the mess. Miranda couldn't help but feel the gaze of Cody bore into the back of her skull as she walked away in the direction of the armoury to suit up as requested. She let a pent up sigh before cracking her knuckles and continuing on her way.


	6. Chapter 5: Mako My Day

Delia couldn't help but tap her feet in irritation as she waited for the SSV Gallipoli to clear customs. Usually an Alliance patrol frigate could bypass the whole ordeal, but the Captain and its entire crew were acting on shore leave as their vessel had officially been decommissioned. Not to mention the additional security since the attack on the planet's research base. It wasn't true of course, but it was a convenient lie that no one was likely to look much into and an easy way to have a whole crew of Alliance marines on hand if anything went awry investigating the remains of the research base. If anyone on the planet bothered checking, all the necessary files were on the Alliance database, Delia had made sure of that.

Geared up in her usual Commando armour, she was however playing the part of a young and inexperienced merc. Captain, looking for fresh recruits to see the galaxy on a budding human colony. Delia had even held recruitment interviews at Hedes largest colony of Chael, but it was all for nothing. Shielding her eyes from the harsh planet's sun, she stood as the crew of the Gallipoli finally cleared customs and made their way through the Port, some laughing and chatting to their comrades, under the full presumption they were on shore leave together.

Three humans approached her, one a small, wiry dark skinned man dressed in a suit, another a towering hulk of a human in fatigues and another, an athletic looking woman, wearing a full suit of medium Onyx body armour. Delia nodded as they stood before her and presented her hand to each of them in turn and introduced herself, as was the human custom.

"I am Delia Idanya. I am in charge of this operation, but as long as you do what is necessary and whatever is crucial to the mission, you can go about your business as you see fit."

The man in the fatigues nodded and replied, "I'm Captain Nathan White of the SSV Gallipoli. With me is Cody Adams," Nathan explained in a deep voice, indicating the dark skinned man next to him, who grinned by way of greeting. "And this is Miranda Hume, who, largely is your partner."

Delia smiled politely and bobbed her head towards Miranda but turned her attention back to the Captain. "Let's get going, shall we? The base is quite a long drive from here, we will be driving long into the night."

"I wish you had told me that before I'd decided to wear this body armour," Miranda muttered under her breath. She definitely wasn't looking forward to the drive, especially if she had to sit next to Cody, who never seemed to loose his sly grin.

Delia heard but said nothing and took off in her long stride off into the city. After five minutes or so of walking through the busy streets of the city, Delia explained, "I'm taking you to a private hotel, I've provided the Rover necessary to take us to the base. It's just through here."

She led the others through the near empty hotel, the few patrons inside looked up and saw the armed group and turned back to their drinks, not wanting to draw attention to themselves. At the back of the hotel, the garage doors leading out into the outskirts of the city and the desert beyond, were already open and the single Rover waiting for them.

It looked to Miranda like a new model of the M35 Mako used by most Alliance frigates for rapid recon deployment, both the Gallipoli and the Alamo had them stored in their cargo bay. Delia opened the side door and climbed into the driver's seat, waiting for the others. Miranda clambered in beside her, purposefully putting the Captain, and more importantly Cody behind her. It wasn't that she had anything particularly against the man, but something about him didn't sit well with Miranda.

Delia started the engine and all of a sudden they were off, the g-forces gluing Miranda to her seat for an instant as they reared off down the road. The journey was mostly silent, the four of them hardly speaking and none of them for small talk, the hours began to drag on. Miranda tried to pass the time by watching the beautiful but harsh desert landscape speeding by the window as the Mako bumped along the roughly hewn gravel roads.

"Soon we're going to have to go cross-country, it's going to get a lot more bumpy from here on in," the asari explained in bored tones, her eyes searching the landscape ahead.

Miranda repressed a sigh at the thought but as she turned to reply to the asari, she saw Delia's eyes narrow in suspicion. Before Miranda could form a question of what was wrong, a string of gunfire ricocheted off the armoured hull of the Mako. Miranda instinctively ducked as Delia swore and floored it.

"Hume! Can you man the guns?" Delia yelled as she steered the Mako onto the rough terrain of the rocky brown desert. "We've got two rovers on our tail, city design though. I'll try to lose them in the valley up ahead. "

"Did they follow us from the Port?" growled Nathan, a scowl on his face. Cody sat impassively, unflinching as more rounds pounded into the hull.

"I doubt it," replied Delia. "They were probably staked out here waiting for anyone investigating, then doubled back behind us when they picked us up our on their radar. Miranda, hurry up with the guns!"

"I'm trying!" Miranda snapped, her heart rate beginning to quicken. "Someone's put a lockdown code on the system, I can't bypass it."

Delia swore and veered once again, her eyes switching from the monitor in front of her showing a technical readout of the Mako itself as well as a rearview representation back to the windscreen. "If they hit our wheels, we're as good as dead!"

"I hear you," Miranda answered. "But this code isn't budging. Seems like someone got their hands on it before we left. Anyway we can manually disable it?"

Delia clenched her jaw, one hand on the wheel as the two rovers kept close pursuit, the other fishing around in her backpack stored beside her. She took out her pistol and aimed at the monitor in front of Miranda and fired. Miranda squeaked in fright as the holographic screen disintegrated and the control panel smoked and sparked.

"There!" The asari countered. "You'll have to do it the old fashion way."

Nathan stood and collapsed a button in the roof, allowing him to manually fire the cannon and machine gun attached to the exterior of the Mako. Within seconds he'd set the mechanism's up and began returning fire at the following Rover's.

"How long is it till the base?" Miranda asked, angling herself to better see the 3D representation of the two rovers in pursuit on the monitor in front of the asari.

Delia replied first with a quick turn that threatened to flip the Rover. They hung precariously before falling back onto all six wheels and drove off once more, kicking up a cloud of dust after them. Then she shrugged, "I'm not too sure. 5-6 hours, maybe."

Nathan cursed from behind them but continued firing. Another string of bullets rang out and rebounded off the armour of the rover. Delia shook her head, "This won't do. We're losing hull integrity _fast_. A few more minutes of this and we're dead."

The three rovers raced along the rough terrain of the desert, bumping along harshly from the uneven ground and the rocks and debris littering the ground.

"That valley a few clicks from here is our best bet," Miranda stated, bringing a withering glance from Delia for it. "Where do you think I'm going?"

The lieutenant didn't reply, only grinded her teeth in a mix of annoyance and panic as the Mako was mercilessly knocked about from the harsh landscape. One of the rovers had fallen behind with a busted wheel because of it, but the other kept on coming, firing almost continuously at the Mako.

Then the Mako suddenly and violently veered out of control as two of the six wheels were shredded into useless pieces of rubber from a spray of bullets. Unlike those who were strapped in, Nathan was thrown viciously across the interior of the Mako, his face colliding with the solid interior next to Cody, blood instantly fountaining from the blow. Nathan bellowed in pain and anger, his hands instinctively coming to bloody mess of his face, the sticky red liquid leaking through his hands to fall into Cody's lap. The man pressed the Captain back into his seat and strapped him in, then leant over to take a look at the injury.

Delia swore in frustration as the Mako hopelessly fishtailed, the two rovers now beginning to catch up. "They're not firing anymore; they must want to take us alive!" She said with a small, mischievous smile.

"Why are you smiling?" Miranda snapped back, her blood thudding in her ears. She would rather pull over and try to fight them off than keep up this pointless chase.

The asari didn't answer her, her smile only deepened. After a moment, when the Rover's were less than five metres behind them, she shouted. "You may want to hold onto something!"

She slammed her foot down on the brakes, and took the two tailing rover's by surprise. But instead of pulling to a complete and quick halt like she had expected, the Mako fishtailed once more and swerved to its side. Miranda only spared a glance to her left to see the two rover's careen into her door, the hull of the Mako collapsing as her world exploded into chaos and pain, and finally blackness.


	7. Chapter 6: Temporarily Stranded

Miranda tried to open her eyes to find them glued shut. She screamed in agony as waves of pain worked their way from her abdomen and then throughout her entire body. Hands were pressing Miranda onto her back but she instinctively resisted, trying to claw her way to safety in the darkness, painfully aware of a dull ache behind her seemingly unresponsive eyes.

Voices seemed to talk to her on the edge of her hearing, but they were dull and muffled as she arched her back in pain. Firm hands held down her shoulders while she felt another pair brace against her thighs. The fire in her stomach doubled and seemed to agonizingly crawl higher up her torso.

"…Hold her!" Miranda heard the words as if through a sheet of bulletproof glass, isolated and alone in her world of pain. The hands restraining her grew tighter as she felt a weight press down on her stomach and something forced into her mouth.

"…It's in the Rover!"

"Bite down!" Came the barking command. Miranda only whimpered in response but did as instructed, feeling the rough surface on the tip of her tongue. A single sliver of light had penetrated the darkness, but she couldn't see anything beyond it.

"Got it!"

"Okay, on the count of five. One…two…three…_four_!"

With a strange sliding sound, the pain in her abdomen abruptly doubled and Miranda unconsciously kicked out against the restraining hands as the fire washed over her. Shouting incomprehensibly, she squirmed and heaved before finding the pain slowly leaving her, soon leaving nothing more than a throbbing ache.

"Give her another, just to be safe." Came a soft voice and Miranda felt a tiny pinprick in her thigh.

Something damp was hastily wiped against her forehead and then again over her eyelids, the harsh orange sunlight of the desert momentarily confounding her senses. Dark rough shapes formed at the edge of her vision as Miranda blinked furiously, trying to focus her vision.

Eventually, Miranda could see the face of Cody, Delia and the bloody one of Nathan looming over her. The Captain's face was set in a scowl, while the asari had a small triumphant smile gracing her lips, and Cody's ever-present grin had returned but a deep cut marred his left cheekbone. She spat out what she now saw was a strip of rough bark used to stop her from biting her own tongue and looked down at her stomach to see a pool of blood had gathered on the floor and a jagged piece of bloody shrapnel lay beside it.

"We've patched you up with what medigel we had," explained Delia, following Miranda's line of sight. "A piece of shrapnel punctured your armour. Luckily for you, that armour took the most of the blow, I would think if the shrapnel had been any deeper, there would be much more serious consequences."

Miranda realized she was shaking as the first result of shock affected her body. She nonetheless reached out her hand and patted the asari weakly on the forearm and whispered, "Thanks."

Delia just nodded once in response and helped Miranda sit up. Over the asari's shoulder, she could see the smoking wreckage of the three rovers, or what little was left; to Miranda's eyes the three had formed some sort of conglomeration of jagged and twisted metal.

"Well," said Nathan, standing up and placing his hands on his hips as he looked around. "We're in the middle of nowhere and no feasible way to get back…and it'll be dark soon."

"True," answered Cody, who sat back on his haunches and gingerly felt the cut on his cheek. "But we can radio the Gallipoli to come pick us up."

"It's not very conspicuous but I guess it's our only chance." He grumbled in reply, not liking to put his ship in unnecessary danger. "The only thing I'm worried about is if there are more hostiles out here; we don't want the Gallipoli to land in a hot zone."

"I don't think there's anyone around us for miles," answered Delia, turning to face the Captain. "But I still have a job to do; the Alliance has secured what little there is of the research base left, we can radio them to come and find us. You three can go back to the city but I'm going on ahead."

Miranda lay back on her elbows and stated matter-of-factly, "I'm going with you."

Both Cody and Nathan spun to face her, "You just had a piece of metal ripped out of your stomach. You're not going anywhere, Lieutenant." He ordered with a disapproving growl.

She eyed the Captain calmly and responded with a cool, "No offence, Captain, but I am not under your command."

"That base isn't going anywhere, Miranda." Cody chimed in, a serious but almost patronizing look in his eyes. "We can return when you're fit to return to duty."

Disliking being undercut, Miranda replied harshly, "And how long do you think it'll take Cerberus to know we've totaled two of their rovers? They'll send reinforcements as soon as they would have learnt someone else was approaching. They may not be able to get passed the base's lockdown this time, but they can definitely stop us from getting there."

Delia stood and let out an irritated sigh. "Miranda's right, and we're wasting time. You two radio the Gallipoli but if she wants to come with me, she's welcome. I get a feeling Miranda's a lot tougher than she looks."

The Captain scowled in return but nodded to Cody to call the docked Gallipoli to come and collect the two. "I don't like it, but I guess I have no choice, do I?"

Delia turned to Miranda and held out her hands for support. As the lieutenant grasped Delia's forearms in a grip that was firmer than the asari expected and let herself be pulled up, the asari explained, "We'll have to get you out of that body armour; with that gaping hole in it, it's not much use anymore."

Miranda just nodded as she came to her feet with a grimace, a bent piece of her armour sharply tearing through the mesh underneath. She turned to Nathan and Cody, the latter had just rang the Ella from the Gallipoli, and sheepishly said, "Turn around."

"What?" Nathan asked, frowning as Miranda unfastened the straps of her chest armour. Cody only grabbed his elbow and guided his vision elsewhere as Miranda took off her body armour and let it fall to the ground with a dull clang. Despite wearing the thin clinging mesh beneath her armour, she still felt next to naked in it, not to mention the large tear in the fabric that had exposed part of her left breast.

Delia politely averted her eyes as she handed Miranda her backpack, which they had discarded while carrying her away from the wreckage of the rovers. She unhooked the uncomfortable thigh and shoulder protection of the armour and stowed it away inside her pack. She rummaged through and pulled out her fatigues and slipped them on over her remaining armour, slapping her pistol into a thigh holster and folding down her assault rifle into her backpack.

"Coast clear, boys." Miranda said calmly, tying her shoulder length hair back into a short ponytail despite her still shaking hands.

Cody turned and said, "The Gallipoli's going to be here soon, you sure you'd rather keep going, Miranda?"

The lieutenant gingerly touched her stomach where the Medi-gel was binding the cut skin together, as well as helping to fight infection and as a local anesthetic she could hardly feel the pain, but she only nodded in her reply.

"That cut on your forehead doesn't look too good, Miranda. You may have a mild concussion," stated Nathan, apparently unwilling to back down.

"I'll live," Miranda said with a genuine smile for the man's caring. "Thanks, anyway. I'll see you back at the Gallipoli tomorrow, if all goes according to plan."

The Captain only gave a wry smile and nodded. Cody picked up his own pack and gave a mock salute and his usual toothy grin to Miranda and Delia before ushering the Captain along to the arranged landing zone a few clicks away.

"Well, I'll radio ahead and get someone to pick us up," Delia paused before casting a glance at the human standing beside her. "You know, Miranda, you didn't have to act tough back there to come along: I can do this job by myself."

Miranda nodded and remained silent for a time, staring at the retreating backs of Nathan and Cody before finally answering, "I know you could; you're a Spectre. But I can't help but feel I'm partly responsible for all of this since I let Dan Waters get away."

"You think he's the reason Cerberus are out here, destroying research labs?" asked Delia, genuinely interested. It had occurred to the asari before, but prior to this mission, she'd never gave it a second thought.

"Definitely." Stated Miranda, "I'm utterly convinced Dan Waters is the whole reason Cerberus is still running. He's the key to their entire operations, their whole plans…I just hope that's important enough that they won't kill him, or worse."

Delia frowned slightly, "Why do you care if he's dead or alive?"

Miranda shrugged, "Honestly, I don't know why." She answered truthfully, "I just have a gut feeling he's important. Things are moving fast, too fast for to be good. We need people like him, people that make changes. People that can change the galaxy."


End file.
